Final hearing on Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute will start December 5

The Supreme Court will start final hearing on 5 December to adjudicate the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute.

The Bench said other documents in the form of 533 exhibits cited in the High Court's verdict will have to be translated by the parties which choose to rely on them.

The court further said that the controversial 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya be divided equally among Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, who is set to take over as India's 45th Chief Justice on August 28 will hear the matter. The Supreme Court has provided a gap of more than 3 months before the final hearing to allow the stakeholders to get all the necessary documents translated into English.

This suggestion was strongly objected to by the Sunni Waqf Board represented by senior advocate Anoop Chaudhari and senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for some of the opposing parties.

The claim done by Hindus is that a mosque was built in 1528-29 CE (935 AH) by Mir Baqi in the birthplace of Lord Rama.

It may be recalled that the Allahabad High Court had in 2010 directed that the site where the Mosque once stood be split between the Nirmohi Akhara, the Waqf Board and Ram Lalla, who were all claimants.

This is a major improvement when compared to the lawsuit as filed by the Sunni Central Waqf Board back in 1961 which stated that any idols near the mosque premises be removed and that the party would be in the ongoing litigations with respect to the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid title dispute.

The court, however, said it would hear civil appeals and other connected matters would be considered later. "And halted here only for a week and it was during his regime the Janmasthan temple was destroyed and on its site a mosque was built using largely the materials of the old structure". All parties involved had challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.

The mosque was demolished by Hindu Karsevaks on December 6, 1992 in Ayodhya.

He had also said that a separate petition had earlier been filed by him seeking enforcement of his right to worship without much hassle at the site. The Shia board also admitted that the Babri Masjid was constructed after demolishing a temple on the site. "Shia Board, having the jurisdiction and authority of superintendence over Shia Waqf, has come out with an appeal to this Court that in lieu of the one-third share of the land, they will be given land elsewhere for the Mosque".